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Cantar de Valtario
Compuesto probablemente a finales del siglo X, durante el reinado del emperador Otón III, el Cantar de Valtario es una de las joyas más preciadas de la literatura latina medieval. Canta las hazañas de Walther o Valtario de Aquitania o de España, héroe del reino godo de Tolosa en los años oscuros de las invasiones germánicas, allá por el siglo V. Su autor fue, quizá, el monje Ekkehard I de San Gall (monasterio de la actual Suiza), nacido hacia 900 y muerto en 973. Pero poco importa quién sea su autor o el momento histórico en que fuera escrito, porque lo que cuenta es la fluidez mágica del relato y la atmósfera irreal que envuelve esta auténtica novela de aventuras trepidantes, tan sugerente y tan moderna que su lectura se convierte en una experiencia inolvidable.
Con esta versión del Cantar de Valtario, Luis Alberto de Cuenca obtuvo el Premio Nacional de Traducción.
Con esta versión del Cantar de Valtario, Luis Alberto de Cuenca obtuvo el Premio Nacional de Traducción.
104 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 920
2 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Ekkehard I. von St. Gallen
7 booksEkkehard I (died 14 January 973), called Major (the Elder), was a monk of the Abbey of Saint Gall. He was of noble birth, of the Jonschwyl family in Toggenburg, and was educated in the monastery of St. Gall; after joining the Benedictine Order, he was appointed director of the inner school there. Later, under Abbot Kralo, who trusted him implicitly, he was elected dean of the monastery, and for a while directed all the affairs of the abbey.
Ekkehard made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he was retained for a time by Pope John XII, who presented him with various relics of St. John the Baptist. After Kralo's death Ekkehard refused the abbatial succession, because of lameness resulting from a fractured leg. However, he directed the choice of Burkard, son of Count Ulrich of Buchhorn, who governed St. Gall with the advice and co-operation of Ekkehard. The latter erected a hospice in front of the monastery for the sick and strangers, and was in many other ways a model of charity.
He was also distinguished as a poet, and wrote a Latin epic "Waltharius", basing his version on an original German text. He dedicated this poem to Bishop Erkanbald of Strasburg (965-991). It describes the elopement of Walter of Aquitaine with the Burgundian princess Hildegunde, from the land of the Huns, followed by the battle of Wasgenstein between Walter and the followers of Gunther and Hagen (ed. Peiper, Berlin, 1873).
He also composed various ecclesiastical hymns and sequences, e. g. in honour of the Blessed Trinity, St. John the Baptist, St. Benedict, St. Columbanus and St. Stephen (Meyer, "Philologische Bemerkungen zum Waltharius" in "Abhandl. der bayr. Akad. d. Wissenschaften", Munich, 1873; Streeker, "Ekkehard und Virgil" in "Zeitschrift f. deutsches Altertum", 1898, XLII, 338-366).
Ekkehard made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he was retained for a time by Pope John XII, who presented him with various relics of St. John the Baptist. After Kralo's death Ekkehard refused the abbatial succession, because of lameness resulting from a fractured leg. However, he directed the choice of Burkard, son of Count Ulrich of Buchhorn, who governed St. Gall with the advice and co-operation of Ekkehard. The latter erected a hospice in front of the monastery for the sick and strangers, and was in many other ways a model of charity.
He was also distinguished as a poet, and wrote a Latin epic "Waltharius", basing his version on an original German text. He dedicated this poem to Bishop Erkanbald of Strasburg (965-991). It describes the elopement of Walter of Aquitaine with the Burgundian princess Hildegunde, from the land of the Huns, followed by the battle of Wasgenstein between Walter and the followers of Gunther and Hagen (ed. Peiper, Berlin, 1873).
He also composed various ecclesiastical hymns and sequences, e. g. in honour of the Blessed Trinity, St. John the Baptist, St. Benedict, St. Columbanus and St. Stephen (Meyer, "Philologische Bemerkungen zum Waltharius" in "Abhandl. der bayr. Akad. d. Wissenschaften", Munich, 1873; Streeker, "Ekkehard und Virgil" in "Zeitschrift f. deutsches Altertum", 1898, XLII, 338-366).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 24, 2023
La historia de Valtario y su enfrentamiento con un grupo de guerreros Burgundios deja bien claro que el gore no es un invento moderno. El protagonista se nos presenta como un héroe sin mácula, pero a la hora de mutilar y destripar no se corta un pelo (aunque también le toca lo suyo) Un libro muy divertido y muy bien traducido. Además de todo, me encanta la aparición de personajes de la leyenda de los Nibelungos.
May 4, 2020
Es una obra realmente impresionante y tan corta que te quedas con ganas de más. Es escrita por Ekkehard, un monje apasionado lector de Virgilio, que se dice que podía recitarlo de memoria. Compone durante su juventud su propio poema épico con 1.456 hexámetros dactílicos latinos, en los que no solo se entretejen elementos épicos de tradición clásica también bebe de la épica germánica. Encontramos personajes como Gunter y Hagen (Guntario y Hagenón) que también aparecen en la gran obra épica alemana, El Cantar de los Nibelungos.
El Waltharius deja descripciones tan bellas que son difíciles de olvidar, el ejercito de los hunos llegando:
"Ferrea silva micat totas rutilando per agros:
Haud aliter, primo quam pulsans aequora mane
Pulcher in extremis renitet sol partibus orbis"
(Una selva de hierro resplandece tiñiendo con su brillo los campos, como al despuntar el alba el sol radiante golpea el mar y reverbera su fulgor en todas las playas del mundo)
El Waltharius deja descripciones tan bellas que son difíciles de olvidar, el ejercito de los hunos llegando:
"Ferrea silva micat totas rutilando per agros:
Haud aliter, primo quam pulsans aequora mane
Pulcher in extremis renitet sol partibus orbis"
(Una selva de hierro resplandece tiñiendo con su brillo los campos, como al despuntar el alba el sol radiante golpea el mar y reverbera su fulgor en todas las playas del mundo)
October 25, 2023
Ai m'ha agradat molt el Valtari, i aquest despelgament de conceptes eterns; d'amistat, lleialtat amor, amb Haganó com a antagonista. Jo es que em sembla que em vaig equivocar d'època.
November 15, 2022
Not this edition but a very old one which isn't in Goodreads database.
Waltharius: lateinisches Gedicht des zehnten Jahrhunderts [ca. 920?; edd. J.V. Scheffel and A. Holder, Latin text with paraphrase and commentary in German, 1874] 180 pages [Kindle, Open Library]
Waltharius manu fortis is a mediaeval Latin epic of 1456 lines, or about 50 pages of a modern printed book. The date and author are apparently controversial. The first two modern editions (the book was rediscovered in the late eighteenth century), the first by Fischer and Molter and the second by Jacob Grimm, describe it in the title as a sixth-century poem; this 1874 edition by Joseph Victor Scheffel and Alfred Holder, which I think was the fourth (I chose it because it was the one that was free on Open Library), calls it a poem of the tenth century. The monk from St. Gall whom modern scholars call Ekkehard IV states in his history of that monastery that it was written by his predecessor, whom modern scholars call Ekkehard I; on the other hand several manuscripts have a dedication by a Geraldus to Bishop Erchambald. The editors of this edition explain that it was written by the young student Ekkehard as a homework assignment and corrected by his teacher, Geraldus, who then sent it on to Bishop Erchambald, and that it was further worked over later by Ekkehard IV. A selection from the epic was included in Harrington's Medieval Latin (1925) as a tenth-century work by Ekkehard; in the second edition, revised by Joseph Pucci (1997) the same excerpt is described as a ninth-century work by an "unknown" Gerald. The two internet resources I consulted gave no indication that there was any controversy: Wikipedia calls it simply a tenth-century poem by Ekkehard, and Britannica Online simply says, a poem by Gerald.
Whenever and by whomever it was written, it is an interesting poem. I read it because of its historical importance as a forerunner of the later vernacular mediaeval epics and as a specimen of the Latin writing of the period (and to be honest because I wanted to get some more practice in mediaeval Latin before attempting the plays of Hrotsvita) but I was surprised to find that it was actually a good story. Unlike many works of mediaeval fiction it was well constructed, varying the pace without ever bogging down and building to a climax, after which it has the sense to stop, with only one stanza about the hero's return home and marriage, which many works (not just mediaeval) would have described at boring length. Although obviously modelled on the Aeneid, it reminded me much more of the Iliad (of course unknown at that time and place).
The poem is set in the fifth century, at the time of Attila the Hun's first invasion of the West. The kings he comes in contact with, either defeated or afraid to resist, make peace and send hostages: King Gibicho of the Franks, whose son Guntharius (Gunthar) is still a baby, sends a teenage relative named Hagan; the king of Aquitania sends his teenage son Waltharius; and the king of Burgundia sends his daughter, Hiltgunt. Waltharius and Hiltgunt have been betrothed since birth. The three are well-treated and brought up in the Hunnish court; the two boys by their strength and skill become leaders of the Hunnish army, and Hiltgunt is entrusted with the supervision of the Hunnish treasury. As they reach their twenties, they decide they want to escape and return home. Hagan leaves first, then a couple weeks later Waltharius flees with Hiltgunt, taking with them a large part of the plunder Attila has taken from the three kings. When the arrival of the couple is announced at the Frankish court at Worms, now the court of King Gunthar after the death of his father Gibicho, Hagan rejoices, but the immature and spoiled Gunthar immediately decides to attack them and steal the treasure, with the excuse that some of it was taken as tribute from his father. He selects twelve champions from his army to accompany him, including the unwilling Hagan.
Meanwhile, the fleeing couple has taken shelter in a cave high in the Vosges forest. King Gunthar and his knights arrive, and he sends a message to Waltharius, arrogantly demanding that he give over the treasure to save his life. He offers to give a part to King Gunthar as a gift for passing through Frankish territory, but Gunthar demands it all; Waltharius refuses. Hagan, with his loyalties divided between his friend Waltharius and his duty to King Gunthar, withdraws like Achilles and refuses to take part on either side. The other eleven champions attack Waltharius in a series of single combats and he defeats them all. One of the successes of the poet is the way that he manages to make all eleven combats sufficiently different to maintain the interest of the reader. One of the eleven champions is the favorite nephew of Hagan; Waltharius tries to dissuade him from fighting but he insists and Waltharius has no choice but to kill him. This decides Hagan to enter the contest on the part of Gunthar (cf. Patrocles and Achilles). Gunthar and Hagan leave the battlesite, but return the next day to follow Waltharius and Hiltgund. When the couple realize they are being followed, Waltharius approaches the other two and there is a final hand-to-hand combat among the three which leads to the resolution of the poem.
The Scheffel and Holder edition is bilingual, like a Loeb or Teubner Classics edition, with the Latin and German on facing pages (which doesn't really work in e-book format.) Unfortunately the German is not a real translation, but more of a loose paraphrase with much left out, so it isn't much help in reading the Latin. Fortunately, the Latin is fairly simple for poetry, with a reasonably straightforward word order influenced by German. (The editors speculate that the Latin poem is based on a lost German original.) Most of the words I didn't know were in my small Latin-English dictionary, although it sometimes took some searching given the mediaeval spellings, and I had to search for a few rare words on the Internet. The text and translation take up about 100 pages, and then there are about 80 pages of explanatory material divided into five chapters. The first chapter describes the poem and puts it into the context of the literature of the period; the second chapter discusses the date and authorship questions and gives mini-biographies of Ekkehard I, Gerald (not unknown after all), Bishop Erchambald, and Ekkehard IV; the third chapter discusses and classifies the manuscripts; the fourth chapter tries to identify the particular site in the Vosges where the poem is set; and the last chapter is the text and translation of the two small existing fragments of the Old English poem Waldhere, which is apparently a version of the same story.
Waltharius: lateinisches Gedicht des zehnten Jahrhunderts [ca. 920?; edd. J.V. Scheffel and A. Holder, Latin text with paraphrase and commentary in German, 1874] 180 pages [Kindle, Open Library]
Waltharius manu fortis is a mediaeval Latin epic of 1456 lines, or about 50 pages of a modern printed book. The date and author are apparently controversial. The first two modern editions (the book was rediscovered in the late eighteenth century), the first by Fischer and Molter and the second by Jacob Grimm, describe it in the title as a sixth-century poem; this 1874 edition by Joseph Victor Scheffel and Alfred Holder, which I think was the fourth (I chose it because it was the one that was free on Open Library), calls it a poem of the tenth century. The monk from St. Gall whom modern scholars call Ekkehard IV states in his history of that monastery that it was written by his predecessor, whom modern scholars call Ekkehard I; on the other hand several manuscripts have a dedication by a Geraldus to Bishop Erchambald. The editors of this edition explain that it was written by the young student Ekkehard as a homework assignment and corrected by his teacher, Geraldus, who then sent it on to Bishop Erchambald, and that it was further worked over later by Ekkehard IV. A selection from the epic was included in Harrington's Medieval Latin (1925) as a tenth-century work by Ekkehard; in the second edition, revised by Joseph Pucci (1997) the same excerpt is described as a ninth-century work by an "unknown" Gerald. The two internet resources I consulted gave no indication that there was any controversy: Wikipedia calls it simply a tenth-century poem by Ekkehard, and Britannica Online simply says, a poem by Gerald.
Whenever and by whomever it was written, it is an interesting poem. I read it because of its historical importance as a forerunner of the later vernacular mediaeval epics and as a specimen of the Latin writing of the period (and to be honest because I wanted to get some more practice in mediaeval Latin before attempting the plays of Hrotsvita) but I was surprised to find that it was actually a good story. Unlike many works of mediaeval fiction it was well constructed, varying the pace without ever bogging down and building to a climax, after which it has the sense to stop, with only one stanza about the hero's return home and marriage, which many works (not just mediaeval) would have described at boring length. Although obviously modelled on the Aeneid, it reminded me much more of the Iliad (of course unknown at that time and place).
The poem is set in the fifth century, at the time of Attila the Hun's first invasion of the West. The kings he comes in contact with, either defeated or afraid to resist, make peace and send hostages: King Gibicho of the Franks, whose son Guntharius (Gunthar) is still a baby, sends a teenage relative named Hagan; the king of Aquitania sends his teenage son Waltharius; and the king of Burgundia sends his daughter, Hiltgunt. Waltharius and Hiltgunt have been betrothed since birth. The three are well-treated and brought up in the Hunnish court; the two boys by their strength and skill become leaders of the Hunnish army, and Hiltgunt is entrusted with the supervision of the Hunnish treasury. As they reach their twenties, they decide they want to escape and return home. Hagan leaves first, then a couple weeks later Waltharius flees with Hiltgunt, taking with them a large part of the plunder Attila has taken from the three kings. When the arrival of the couple is announced at the Frankish court at Worms, now the court of King Gunthar after the death of his father Gibicho, Hagan rejoices, but the immature and spoiled Gunthar immediately decides to attack them and steal the treasure, with the excuse that some of it was taken as tribute from his father. He selects twelve champions from his army to accompany him, including the unwilling Hagan.
Meanwhile, the fleeing couple has taken shelter in a cave high in the Vosges forest. King Gunthar and his knights arrive, and he sends a message to Waltharius, arrogantly demanding that he give over the treasure to save his life. He offers to give a part to King Gunthar as a gift for passing through Frankish territory, but Gunthar demands it all; Waltharius refuses. Hagan, with his loyalties divided between his friend Waltharius and his duty to King Gunthar, withdraws like Achilles and refuses to take part on either side. The other eleven champions attack Waltharius in a series of single combats and he defeats them all. One of the successes of the poet is the way that he manages to make all eleven combats sufficiently different to maintain the interest of the reader. One of the eleven champions is the favorite nephew of Hagan; Waltharius tries to dissuade him from fighting but he insists and Waltharius has no choice but to kill him. This decides Hagan to enter the contest on the part of Gunthar (cf. Patrocles and Achilles). Gunthar and Hagan leave the battlesite, but return the next day to follow Waltharius and Hiltgund. When the couple realize they are being followed, Waltharius approaches the other two and there is a final hand-to-hand combat among the three which leads to the resolution of the poem.
The Scheffel and Holder edition is bilingual, like a Loeb or Teubner Classics edition, with the Latin and German on facing pages (which doesn't really work in e-book format.) Unfortunately the German is not a real translation, but more of a loose paraphrase with much left out, so it isn't much help in reading the Latin. Fortunately, the Latin is fairly simple for poetry, with a reasonably straightforward word order influenced by German. (The editors speculate that the Latin poem is based on a lost German original.) Most of the words I didn't know were in my small Latin-English dictionary, although it sometimes took some searching given the mediaeval spellings, and I had to search for a few rare words on the Internet. The text and translation take up about 100 pages, and then there are about 80 pages of explanatory material divided into five chapters. The first chapter describes the poem and puts it into the context of the literature of the period; the second chapter discusses the date and authorship questions and gives mini-biographies of Ekkehard I, Gerald (not unknown after all), Bishop Erchambald, and Ekkehard IV; the third chapter discusses and classifies the manuscripts; the fourth chapter tries to identify the particular site in the Vosges where the poem is set; and the last chapter is the text and translation of the two small existing fragments of the Old English poem Waldhere, which is apparently a version of the same story.
February 14, 2019
Obra realmente singular, un poema en latín sobre un héroe germánico que se enfrenta a sus enemigos mientras huye con su amada y se dan más tajos y muere más gente que en una película de John Woo.
Para el lector moderno, un viaje lisérgico a los tiempos en los que no existían ni el gore ni el anime japonés pasado de vueltas, y la gente se divertía con estas burradas. Hemobukkake a tutiplén.
Se lee en un rato, y la cara que se te queda después de hacerlo te dura unos días.
Para el lector moderno, un viaje lisérgico a los tiempos en los que no existían ni el gore ni el anime japonés pasado de vueltas, y la gente se divertía con estas burradas. Hemobukkake a tutiplén.
Se lee en un rato, y la cara que se te queda después de hacerlo te dura unos días.
December 5, 2022
Cantar escrito en el siglo XI que narra las peripecias de Valtario de Aquitania (o de Hispania), el único que, por lo menos que yo conozca, tiene a un visigodo como protagonista. El librillo, de corta extensión, se centra en su mayor parte en como nuestro héroe ejecuta de diversas y sangrientas maneras -son abundantes las decapitaciones, evisceraciones, decalvaciones...- a una partida de francos (o burgundios según se mire) que pretenden robarle honra, riqueza y vida.
Lo más interesante es que aparecen viejos conocidos: algunos de existencia totalmente probada -como Atila rey de los Hunos-y otros celebérrimos por protagonizar otro cantar de gesta ("Los Nibelungos"), concretamente Hagen -que aquí es pintado en tonos mucho más favorables- y Gunther, que sigue tan imbécil como siempre.
La edición le valió a Luis Alberto Cuenca el Premio Nacional de Traducción, seguro que muy merecido, pero echo en falta una mayor profusión de notas: a pesar de su corta extensión, la obra posee gran contexto histórico y se agradecería la opinión de un experto.
Lo más interesante es que aparecen viejos conocidos: algunos de existencia totalmente probada -como Atila rey de los Hunos-y otros celebérrimos por protagonizar otro cantar de gesta ("Los Nibelungos"), concretamente Hagen -que aquí es pintado en tonos mucho más favorables- y Gunther, que sigue tan imbécil como siempre.
La edición le valió a Luis Alberto Cuenca el Premio Nacional de Traducción, seguro que muy merecido, pero echo en falta una mayor profusión de notas: a pesar de su corta extensión, la obra posee gran contexto histórico y se agradecería la opinión de un experto.
February 7, 2023
Es una obra corta, pero con descripciones muy disfrutables. Todas las escenas provocan imagenes muy buenas.
February 23, 2025
sorpresivamente me parece gracioso, excepto la parte del medio donde batalla uno por uno.
November 2, 2022
El libro es muy simple pero bueno, lo que si tiene mucho a su favor son la manera de describir las peleas entre caballeros, libro simple corto pero bueno
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews